The first thing that makes this stand out is the label, I love it, it’s slightly different to the usual Hook Norton ones, it’s the sort of picture I could imagine in a battered old frame on the wall of a lovely country pub.

Haymaker poured slightly darker than the Hooky Gold but with the same, good sized, frothy white head. The aroma’s aren’t as summery, I would go so far as to say they are more autumnal, with malt, hops and a hint of spice. I could also smell a bit of hay – maybe I was imagining it because of the name, or maybe Emily had just come in from the farm!!

Taste wise the first thing I noticed was how malty it was compared to the Hooky Gold, It was quite creamy and had a lovely mild bitterness with just a hint of spice coming in at the end, if I am honest I preferred the Hooky Gold as Haymaker was maybe just bordering on a bit malty and not quite as drinkable or interesting as the gold. Still a tasty beer though.

You can find out more about Hook Norton on their website here

Hooky Gold is a pale and refreshing ale from Hook Norton in Oxfordshire, It comes in at 4.2% ABV which makes it a great session beer.

Hooky Gold Pours a lovely pale golden colour with quite a foamy white head, it smells of summer, lots of citrus, pears, maybe a little bit of apple and lots of flowery notes.

It tastes just like it smells, very light and summery, hints of citrus, malt and a little bit of bitterness, I also picked up a herby quality, almost elderflowery, it reminded me a lot of one of the Badger Beers although slightly more hoppy and less flowery than that.

The big question is would I buy this? the answer is a resounding yes, It would make a great Summer BBQ or Picnic beer, I could see my self sitting and supping a lot of this beer in the sun, it even got a big thumbs up from Emily who snaffled half the bottle for her self.

So a big thumbs up from me and a big thank you to Mark!

You can find out more about Hook Norton on their website here